Politics, Economics, Culture, and Theology with a Biblical Viewpoint

Universal Healthcare, Universal Drone Strikes

Who else remembers the progressive-liberal movement displaying such moral outrage towards George W. Bush because of the “war on terror” and his unconstitutional invasion of Iraq? We’re talking impeachment-level outrage. Bush was deemed a war criminal worthy of imprisonment. He was condemned for passing the Patriot Act, a bill that essentially repeals the fourth amendment. Celebrities made a mockery of him and thousands upon thousands of protesters gathered all over the world in defense of peace and the rule of law.

The anti-Bush hysteria certainly included independents, libertarians and constitutionalists, but the majority aligned themselves with the Democratic Party. Riding the coattails of the anti-war movement was Senator Barack Obama, identifying himself as one who was against unconstitutional wars and the Patriot Act. He promised to bring the troops home from Iraq within the first year of his presidency. This sealed his White House victory quite easily. The movement had finally found their man. So, where are they now?

It is no secret that President Obama has escalated Bush’s war on terror. Five years after his first inauguration, we are still in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama has started his own unconstitutional interventions in Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. He even renewed the Patriot Act into law! (And speaking of rights to privacy, let’s not forget the intrusive TSA.) The hypocrisy is unbelievable, but it doesn’t stop with him. While thousands of innocent men, women, and children are killed daily by Obama’s policies, the thousands of anti-war protesters are nowhere to be found. The moral outrage has been quelled. Accusations of warmongering and threats of impeachment are non-existent. Instead of being mocked by Hollywood, Obama is lauded for his innovative leadership.

When I point this out to my liberal friends, they usually just shrug it off. They can’t deny it and they see the inconsistency – they just don’t care. “Obama’s not perfect, but he’s our best chance at universal healthcare,” I’m told. “His administration is the only one that would make marriage equality a reality.”“He puts science before ideology.” All I hear are excuses. All I hear is that peace and the rule of law are only important when they suit some anti-Republican propaganda. What’s being said, intentional or not, is that the health and equality of an American citizen is more important than the health and equality of the young Pakistani girl blown apart by an Obama drone. The anti-war movement has become what they supposedly hated not many years ago. As long as their agendas are being represented in the White House, the president’s wars will be ignored.

Free-market economists are always telling us that universal healthcare will come at a price, resulting in less quality of care. The victims of Obama’s drone strikes agree.

Adam McIntosh lives with his wife and daughter in Southern Illinois where he is fulfilling a pastoral internship at a local church. You may write to him here.